THIS WEEKEND Movie
fans came out in droves to see their favorite green ogre's newest adventure
as Shrek the Third easily captured
the box office crown and broke the record for the biggest opening ever
for an animated film. That sent the super hero saga Spider-Man
3 down to the runnerup spot but the overall marketplace once
again beat last year's levels for the third straight weekend giving the
summer movie season an explosive start.

Executives at DreamWorks Animation and Paramount were drinking green
champagne this weekend thanks to Shrek the Third
which debuted to an astounding $121.6M, according to final
studio figures, over the Friday-to-Sunday period and $122.5M since its
early launch at 10pm on Thursday night in about 1,000 theaters. Invading
4,122 total locations, the PG-rated toon averaged a stunning $29,507 per
cinema and surpassed the $108M bow of 2004's Shrek
2 which previously held the record for the biggest animated
opening. That film, which was the first in history to break the 4,000-theater
threshold, debuted on a Wednesday and captured $129M over its five-day
premiere period. The next biggest toon opening is $70.5M for the 2004 Disney/Pixar
vehicle The Incredibles which just
shows how different the league that the Shrek
franchise lives in is.

Third also set new opening weekend
records for both DreamWorks and Paramount beating Shrek
2 and War of the Worlds
($64.9M), respectively. The ogre sequel also generated the third best opening
of all-time trailing only Spider-Man 3's
$151.1M from earlier this month and Pirates of
the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest's $135.6M from last July. That
ranking should slip another spot next weekend after the new Pirates
film sets sail.

The new ogre sequel grossed $907,000 on Thursday from night-before showings
beginning at 10pm, hauled in $38.4M on Friday (its true opening day), surged
23% to $47.1M on Saturday, and dipped 23% on Sunday to $36.1M. Shrek
2, which opened on the same exact weekend three years ago, suffered
a similar 22% Saturday-to-Sunday dip in its debut frame. The production
budget on the new installment is estimated to be $160-170M.

Reuniting the voice talents of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz,
and Antonio Banderas, Shrek the Third
adds some new characters including a teen would-be king voiced by Justin
Timberlake. The slender 92-minute film was not very well-liked by critics
and earned the worst reviews for the franchise just as Spider-Man
3 did a couple of weeks ago. However, moviegoers again disregarded
the critics and came out for some early summer fun dropping some mighty
big bags of cash at multiplexes nationwide. Shrek
dominated the attention of ticket buyers and accounted for about
70% of all sales for the Top 20.

Studio research showed that Fiona's hubby appealed to all audience segments
becoming a true four-quadrant pic. Females made up 51% of the crowd and
those over and under the age of 25 were evenly split. Teens, young adults,
and families all came out in strong numbers. Those polled by CinemaScore
gave the toon a B+ grade which is decent, but not spectacular. A fourth
chapter of Shrek is already in development
for a planned 2010 release.

Dropping 50% in its third weekend was two-time box office champ Spider-Man
3 with $29M. Sony's webslinger sequel flew to $282.4M (including
Imax grosses) from North America and averaged $6,712 from a record high
4,324 theaters. After 17 days, the Venom pic shot up to number 28 on the
list of all-time domestic blockbusters just ahead of The
Matrix Reloaded which grossed $281.5M in 2003. Given its rate
of erosion and upcoming competition from Captain Jack, the third webcrawler
still looks on a course to conclude its domestic run with $340-350M.

Spider-Man 3 continues to rank number
one in most international territories and grossed $49.6M overseas this
weekend pushing its offshore cume to a scorching $465M and the global gross
to a towering $747M. The latest Peter Parker tale has now become the top-grossing
Spidey film overseas surpassing the $418M for the first film in 2002 and
the $410M of Spider-Man 2 in 2004.
The third chapter has really taken off internationally as overseas box
office accounts for 62% of the global tally. The first two super hero installments
saw about 52% of their worldwide groesses come from outside of North America.

Fox's horror sequel 28 Weeks Later
dropped one spot to third place with $5.5M bringing the ten-day total to
$18.9M. The well-reviewed virus thriller declined by only 44% which is
impressive for a fright flick. Still, Weeks looks
to finish with about $30-32M or about one-third less than the $45.1M of
2003's 28 Days Later.

Only scraps were left for the other films playing at multiplexes as
the rest of the movies in the top ten attracted weekend averages of less
than $1,500 each. Universal's Jane Fonda-Lindsay Lohan pic Georgia
Rule dropped 45% to $3.7M in its second weekend pushing its
ten-day total to a weak $12.9M. Look for a disappointing $20-22M final
for the R-rated film which few have been showing interest in.

Three-time chart-topper Disturbia
took in $3.7M as well, off only 21%, for a $71.4M cume for Paramount. The
sleeper hit should find its way to around $80M. New Line's Anthony Hopkins
starrer Fracture dipped just 23% to
$2.3M putting the sum at $34.5M. A final tally of roughly $40M should result.

The Lionsgate comedy Delta Farce
followed its dismal bow with a troubling 46% fall to $1.9M this weekend
for a miniscule total of $6.1M in ten days. It will try to limp to a $10M
overall gross. Following in eighth place was Buena Vista's The
Invisible with $1.3M, down 44%, putting the cume at $17.7M.
The supernatural thriller will probably end up with about $21M.

British import Hot Fuzz continued
to have good legs dipping only 25% to $1.3M pushing the total to $21.1M.
Focus will try to get to $25M. Rounding out the top ten was Will Ferrell's
Blades of Glory with $1.1M, down 25%,
for a $115.4M cume for Paramount.

Fox Searchlight enjoyed continued success with the expansion of the
Keri Russell starrer Waitress which
widened from 65 to 116 theaters for a $1.1M weekend and a solid $9,319
average. That doubled the comedy's cume to $2.1M. This Friday, Waitress
will expand again to most markets across the country reaching over 500
theaters playing as an indie alternative to the mindless popcorn films
of early summer.

Meanwhile in just two theaters, the distributor saw a powerful debut
for its musical romance Once which
grossed $61,901 for a sizzling $30,951 per site. Showered with praise from
critics, the R-rated film premieres in eleven new cities on Friday.

Yari Film Group had a mild debut for its ensemble drama Even
Money which bowed to $22,465 from six playdates for a not-so-impressive
$3,744 average. Danny DeVito, Kim Basinger, and Forest Whitaker star.

Tumbling out of the top ten this weekend was Disney's animated comedy
Meet the Robinsons which fell a steep
72% thanks to the ogre's arrival to $503,975. The G-rated toon has grossed
$95.3M after its eighth weekend and may be headed for a $97M finish. Paramount's
big-budget action flop Next fell 38%
to $1.1M giving the Nicolas Cage actioner an embarrassing $16.5M to date.
A wimpy $19M final seems likely.

The top ten films grossed $171.4M which was up 12% from last year when
The Da Vinci Code opened at number
one with $77.1M; and up 10% from 2005 when Star
Wars Episode III debuted on top with $108.4M.

Compared to projections, Shrek the Third
opened a few notches higher than my $115M forecast. Spider-Man
3 was close to my $27M prediction.

Be sure to check back on Thursday for a complete summary, including
projections, for next weekend when Pirates of
the Caribbean: At World's End and Bug
both open for the long Memorial Day holiday frame.

This column is updated three times each week:
Thursday
(upcoming weekend's summary), Sunday
(post-weekend analysis with estimates), and Monday
night (actuals). Opinions expressed in this column are those solely of
the author.